I am glad I read On Fascism:  12 Lessons from American History by Matthew C. MacWilliams

Dr MacWilliams starts with survey data indicating that 46% of Americans inconsistently support  democracy (https://www.voterstudygroup.org/publication/follow-the-leader) and explores surveys that indicate support for various ideas inconsistent with democracies.

The 12 lessons are told in such a way that they serve as a reminder that although we are a good nation, we are far from perfect and at times some of our actions were more consistent with these undemocratic beliefs.

These history lessons are followed by a conclusion chapter with 10 steps to strengthen the American democracy.

That in turn is followed by 3 appendices discussing methods and so forth.  In particular I found interesting his discussion of measuring authoritarianism.

One method is a simple 4 question test.  I took it and was surprised to learn I scored very differently from the author, although we agreed on many of the issues he discussed in this book.

I highly recommend On Fascism and thank Netgalley for the chance to read it before publication.